Scottish Customs from the Cradle to the Grave
Second Edition-published by Birlinn, Edinburgh, 04.
ISBN 978-0-84158-293-1

A highly readable and absorbing anthology of traditional Scottish customs and rites of passage, drawn from a broad range of literary sources dating back to the sixteenth century. Tape recorded interviews from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries give voice to tradition bearers from all walks of life, adding colour to this comprehensive picture of social behaviour. The most up to date, authoritative work on the subject, this collection spans several centuries, and, in three sections, deals with Childbirth and Infancy: Love, Courtship and Marriage; and Death and Burial...

 

 

 

 

Second runner-up for the Katherine Briggs Prize for Folklore, 1993
Book Nominated- Scottish Customs from the Cradle to the Grave Published by Birlinn, Scotland £ 12.99

Amazon review:
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
Reviewer:
Andrew Casad (San Diego, CA) - As someone of Scottish descent and a student of Anthropology and History, I really appreciated this text. There are a myriad of books available that purport to tell about Scottish customs, or focus on some narrow aspect of Scottish life, such as clan associations. This book, however, addresses the whole gamut of life of the Scottish folk, from motherhood and child-rearing, through the rites of passage into adulthood, and finally the passage from life into eternal life. Bennett draws upon a wide selection of historical sources, disparate in both locale and time period. Relying not only upon the historical record, but utilizing her expertise as a folklorist, Bennett elicits ethnographic data, which she presents and uses to draw her conclusions. She paints a vivid picture of life in Scotland that offers new and insightful ways in which to look at Scottish cultural practices. I highly recommend this lucid, yet academic and well-researched book regarding Scottish customs to anyone wishing to get beyond the surface aspects of the fascinating and vibrant traditional Scottish cultural patterns.